The Witch of Christmas
by StormFarron185
Summary: Christmas. A time of joy for all across the world. However within this holiday season a certain Witch awakens, one that goes after those who are naughty. HomuSaya AU.
1. Warning From The Prophet

The Witch of Christmas - Chapter 1

Warning From The Prophet

* * *

Homura Akemi walked out of her home while wearing violet winter clothing. She adjusted the scarf around her neck and looked around for a moment, taking in the sight of how much snow had built up over the night. It covered houses, trees and even the pathways. Luckily the the snow wasn't so thick so it was still possible to walk somewhat normally through it.

It was December 1st, so the snow was fitting along with the Christmas decorations that some people had already set up for their homes and around the area.

Homura's own home lacked any festive decorations. The girl hadn't celebrated the Christmas season in a long time. After all, for many years the only thing Homura cared about was saving Madoka. Getting ready for something like Christmas was never on her mind.

But that was the past. Months had already gone by ever since the battle against Walpurgisnacht. That long and tiresome journey was over now. Sometimes it was hard for Homura to believe that she was no longer reliving the same month over and over.

She closed her eyes for a moment and allowed herself to smile.

"Hey Homura? You in there?"

The dark haired girl suddenly realised she was so deep in thought she didn't noticed that another person had already walked up to her. She turned toward the origin of the voice and found herself facing someone she cared about deeply.

"Oh, sorry about that Sayaka. I was just thinking about a few things."

"Like what?"

Homura scratched the side of her face as she felt slight embarrassment building while she looked away from Sayaka.

"Just... I'm happy. Happy to have a life after Walpurgisnacht. If it wasn't for you, I might still be trapped in that time loop."

That's right, while the battle against Walpurgisnacht was a team effort from all the Mahou Shoujo of Mitakihara, there was one person who was more effective against then everyone else.

Sayaka Miki. A Mahou Shoujo who at first wasn't very strong, grew more powerful with time. Homura decided to train the girl in swordplay to the point of becoming an exceptional melee fighter. The girl's raw magical energy also continued to increase to where she could rival even Mami Tomoe in terms of sheer magic firepower.

A lot of things happened, but eventually Walpurgisnacht was finally slain. A feat that Homura knew wouldn't have been accomplished without everyone's help. Sayaka herself was even integral to dealing the final blow against the Witch.

"Come on Homura, that was months ago. You're free to move on from that you know?"

"I know. Sometimes I can't help but think about it though. Fighting Walpurgisnacht was a part of my life for so long-"

Her words were cut off as Homura felt a hand take hold of one of hers. She was forced to face Sayaka's smiling face as she felt a blush creep up on her cheeks.

"Hey now, enough of that alright? It's the Christmas season, no need to dwell on the past. Now let's go get you come decorations. Your house really looks like a drab in the middle of everyone else's, no offence."

Sayaka started leading the dark haired girl by the hand along the path. Homura stared down at the hand that was holding onto to her own. Eventually another smile formed on her face as she allowed Sayaka to lead the way.

The two of them had been dating for a few months now and Homura still found the simple act of holding hands with Sayaka to be somewhat embarrassing.

Although she didn't dislike the feeling at all.

* * *

_Mitakihara Mall_

The two girls went around the mall to various different stores and picked up a lot of Christmas decorations. Lights, ornaments and the like. Homura really didn't know what she wanted to buy so Sayaka had to be the one to point out what might be good to pick up. After having several bags filled with decorations they decided to go have some lunch at a fast food place.

The two girls sat next to each other and made small talk as they consumed the hot food.

"Man, I sometimes forget you're pretty loaded aren't you Homura?"

The amount of decorations they had bought was quite a decent amount, and they hadn't even gotten Homura a tree yet. Sayaka initially planned to at least try to cover some of the cost, but Homura opted to pay for all of it out of her own pocket.

"My parents left me with more than enough money to last a decade. Maybe that's how long they thought I would live."

Homura spoke a morbid statement so nonchalantly that the mood around the two of them immediately dropped. Sayaka was left wanting to divert the topic away from her girlfriend's parents as soon as possible. She knew Homura held little, if any love at all for her parents. They had left their daughter all on her own to fend for herself when Homura moved to Mitakihara.

Sayaka had obviously never met them before, but she couldn't imagine they were great people to have left their own daughter all alone like that.

Homura let out a sigh after she realised the effect her words had on Sayaka. "Sorry, didn't mean to bring down the mood. I guess looking on the bright side of things, I'm free to decorate the house however I want."

The dark haired girl ate a hot potato chip before continuing. "Oh right, you're probably going to have to help me set these decorations up since I've never done this before.

Since she had never before properly decorated her home for Christmas, Homura would need someone more experienced in it to assist her. She took a quick glance at the bags of decorations at her feet. It certainly a fair amount to put up so an extra pair of hands would be nice. That and spending more time with Sayaka was something she couldn't complain about.

The more Homura thought about it, the more she was looking forward to it. To Christmas as a whole.

Sayaka shrugged while taking a sip of soft drink. "That's fine with me, I was gonna offer to help you out anyway."

The blue haired girl may also have a slight ulterior motive for wanting to help Homura with the Christmas decorating. She just needed to put a certain item in an appropriate location. Hopefully her girlfriend wouldn't notice anything until Christmas Day.

Unfortunately, there was something the two girls did notice and that was the presence of a Witch being born somewhere in the mall.

Sayaka couldn't help but be at least slightly irritated. She may consider herself to be a Mahou Shoujo of Justice, but that didn't mean Witch appearances couldn't be straight up annoying from time to time.

"Damnit..."

Homura was already getting up from her seat and picked up the bags of decorations. She figured they would have to be stored inside the shield when the opportunity arose. "It can't be helped. This is the life we chose. Besides, it's not like you have any trouble with a Witch anymore these days, right?"

* * *

In an far away city, in an unknown country, a young girl collapsed on the ground in the middle of a near desolate dark park. At first one might think she was unconscious, but the lifeless look in her eyes would indicate that she was dead.

The was one other figure in the park. It stood near the lifeless girl. It was towering and shrouded in darkness. The figure stared down at the dead human for a moment before beginning to walk away.

"...Naughty..."

It spoke with a low demonic growl. It was a voice that definitely did not have a hint of humanity in it.

The figure continued to walk away into the darkness. The light clanging of chains could be heard, along with the faint tune of "Jingle Bells" following wherever it went.

* * *

Sayaka battled against a large green serpent like Witch in a forest clearing while Homura stood back with a submachine gun in hand.

The dark haired girl shot down any familiar that appeared with small burst of bullets but did nothing to directly help Sayaka against the Witch.

After all, it's not like the swordswoman needed it.

Sayaka pulled her sword back behind herself and shifted her body into a position that would allow her to charge forward in an instant. As she began to focus her magic around the cutlass sword, it soon became enveloped in a blue aura that almost looked like flames.

The serpent Witch shot forward with an open mouth, intending to devour Sayaka in a single move.

Sayaka charged headlong against the enemy and swung her sword in a horizontal slash.

And just like that, it was over. The Witch split in half from the blade as it cut through with ease and started to dissolve while the Labyrinth began to disappear.

The two girls found themselves standing back in the restricted floor of the mall that was still under construction. Sayaka picked up the Grief Seed and threw it towards Homura who put it away inside her shield. Neither girl needed to use it right away so it could be saved for later.

They both smiled at one another before silently agreeing to leave before anyone could catch them in the restricted area.

However the two of them had in fact been caught, but not by any security guards.

As the Mahou Shoujo walked towards the exit door, they stopped dead in their tracks when the girls found themselves facing a very familiar individual leaning her body against the door.

Homura eyed the person blocking the exit closely. She was also wearing warm clothes that suited the winter season, but the moment the dark haired girl took a look at those green eyes staring at them, she knew exactly who it was.

"Oriko Mikuni... what are you doing here?"

The Mahou Shoujo who could see the future. One that Homura had fought before in a previous timeline. A girl who once targeted the life of Madoka Kaname.

Oriko Mikuni. As of now, she was no longer an enemy. After having been convinced that Madoka would never under any circumstance make a contract with Kyubey to become a Mahou Shoujo, she eventually dropped her original objective and agreed to an alliance. One that had Oriko and her ally Kirika participate in the battle against Walpurgisnacht.

Every since that battle however, Oriko had never once chosen to intentionally meet with any of the other Mahou Shoujo of Mitakihara. Kirika Kure being the obvious exception of course. Whenever someone did see Oriko, it was only ever an accidental meeting. Few words, if any at wall were exchanged.

So the fact that she was here now could only mean something important.

"Homura Akemi... Sayaka Miki... I come with a warning."

The ex-time traveler crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "I'm listening..."

Oriko made direct eye contact with both Homura and Sayaka one more time before she began speaking.

"I've had a grave vision, one that I believe you should know about. There is a Witch coming to Mitakihara."

Homura's mind couldn't help but immediately think of Walpurgisnacht, and because of that a feeling of dread started to build up inside her. The other girl continued talking.

"Every Christmas season it awakens, and goes around the world attacking Mahou Shoujo who it has deemed naughty throughout the entire year."

Sayaka had to quirk her eyes brows as her face showed visible confusion. "The hell? What kind of Witch is that? Does it think it's Santa or something?"

An uncomfortable silence passed before Oriko answered.

"Not quite, but you are on the right track. Tell me... have you either of you heard of the legend of Krampus?"

* * *

**Author's Note: So this something I had in mind but for a while I didn't know whether I wanted to do it because many ideas for this HomuSaya AU are taken straight from my other on going HomuSaya story. As of this writing it still isn't finished. However with the Christmas season upon us I decided to give it a go. I've never written anything related to Christmas before so this is new ground for me.**

**I don't plan this story to be very long, only a few chapters at most so it should be finished before Christmas Day.**

**Drop a review to tell me what you think, and I'll see you next time.**


	2. The Shadow of Saint Nicholas

The Witch of Christmas - Chapter 2

The Shadow of Saint Nicholas

* * *

Sayaka was left confused by the name. She had never heard of "Krampus" before, but Homura knew exactly what it was. She had come across the legend online was studying about Christmas.

"Krampus, a demon of the Christmas season. It's sometimes known as the Shadow of Saint Nicholas. While Santa Claus has the job of giving joy to nice kids, Krampus is left with the role of punishing those who have been naughty." Depending on the legend, there was more to it than that but Homura given out the gist of it.

Oriko nodded in confirmation, not surprised in the slightest that Homura Akemi was already well informed. "Correct, and as it turns out there is a Witch out there that embodies the legend. Most likely inspired by it. This Witch seems to stay inside it's own Labyrinth for 11 months of the year but when December comes around, it travels across the world to attack Mahou Shoujo. Likely going through a supposed "naughty list" as it were."

The future seer then raised her hand and pointed a finger at the ex-time traveler.

"On Christmas Day, Krampus will attack you; Homura Akemi. It seems to have chosen you as it's final target of the year."

Silence followed the end of her statement. Homura was simply trying to absorb the information. A Witch was going to target her specifically, if Oriko's words were accurate of course. But since there was little reason for her to lie here Homura was forced to believe everything she said.

Oriko tilted her head to one side. "So then, what will you do now?"

Homura took in a deep breath and collected her thoughts. She closed her eyes as memories of the battle against Walpurgisnacht flashed through her mind. She remembered the pain of the battle, but also the feeling of joy when it had finally been defeated. The feeling of finally having earned a happy ending.

It seemed like this Witch was intending to threaten that.

She reopened her eyes as the girl felt determination surge through her body, There was really only one thing to do.

"Isn't it obvious? I'll fight. There's no way I'll let myself be killed by a Witch. I didn't die against Walpurgisnacht, and I won't die to any other Witch either."

Oriko felt her lips form a slight smile. "Good answer. Now then, how will you fight it?"

"That depends. I want you to describe everything you know about Krampus. You've seen it in a vision right? I need to know what it looks like and what kind of combat powers it possesses."

Homura suddenly felt a familiar hand on her shoulder. It was Sayaka, and she was looking just as determined as her girlfriend.

"Remember, you're not alone anymore. You've got me, and everyone else. I'm sure the others will want to help you fight it as well."

Homura felt herself calming down with Sayaka's touch. She nodded and smiled warmly at the other girl. It was in large part thanks to Sayaka that she has finally moved past Walpurgisnacht after all. If it wasn't for her then that seemingly endless journey of despair might still be ongoing.

That battle was long over of course, but it seemed like fate still wanted to add one more challenge for them to face.

"Of course, thank you Sayaka."

Oriko Mikuni let the two lovebirds have their moment before she began to describe what Krampus looked like. as well as it's magical abilities just as Homura wanted.

* * *

Krampus found itself walking through a dark forest. It's heavy feet trudged through the winter snow as small animals began to flee whenever the strange creature covered in darkness got near.

However, what didn't flee at the sight of Krampus was a pack of large wolves.

They spotted the large figure and instead of running, the animals made themselves known by growling at it. Some of the wolves circled around to the back so that it couldn't escape.

Krampus stopped walking, and only stared at the animals that were trying to intimidate it.

As a Witch, it only cared about humans and Mahou Shoujo. About feeding off the negative emotions the species have off. It didn't care for anything else.

However...

The wolves started charging from all sides. They barked along the way and sought to take down the tall figure as prey.

The darkness surrounding Krampus dissipated around its hands as chains started being summoned.

* * *

_Akemi Residence_

"This... might be complicated."

Homura drank some hot coffee before she looked back down at her notes. The way she sat in the white strategy eerily reminded her of the time of planning against Walpurgisnacht.

After Oriko had explained everything she knew about the coming Witch, Homura went straight to her home along with Sayaka and pretty much wrote down everything about Krampus. Every detail Oriko revealed had been put to paper so the information would be easier to remember.

"Why complicated?" Sayaka asked while sitting beside Homura.

"It's just with the information Oriko Mikuni gave us, this Witch almost seems comparable to Walpurgisnacht in terms of strength."

"So? We beat that Witch together, and we can do it again with this one."

"I wish I had your confidence, but without my time powers..."

A rather deafening silence followed as each girl had similar thoughts.

After the battle with Walpurgisnacht, Homura's power to manipulate time disappeared. She no longer had the ability to freeze time or rewind it. The latter obviously wasn't much of an issue, but the former...

That forced Homura away from the front line of battle. Conserving ammunition and explosives became more important as she couldn't just raid a military base for those weapons anymore. While she could still steal some guns and ammunition from gangs if she was sneaky enough and asked for the help of her friends, she was certainly not going to have the supple of weapons she was used to.

And since Homura had been so used to having the ability to freeze time whenever she wanted, to fight without it was also quite a hindrance for a while.

All of that had the end consequence of Homura ending up as a support Mahou Shoujo. Luckily, no Witches were ever as strong as Walpurgisnacht so it never became that big of an issue.

Until now.

"I just... I don't like having less control of the situation..."

As Homura read through the notes again, Sayaka sighed as she didn't how to respond. She simply didn't know how it felt to lose power, in fact her jounery was the opposite. While getting to know Homura and eventually falling in love with her, Sayaka only really became more powerful in terms of magical strength. She just couldn't properly empathize with Homura's situation.

Her head turned to the side and took a look at the floating portraits against the wall to distract herself. After Walpurgisnacht had been defeated, Homura had taken them all down. They weren't needed anymore. Now they were back up, except the images had been swapped out for different illustrations of Krampus that Homura found online.

While all the images of Krampus had different variations, there some details that remained constant through out most of them.

It was always somewhat humanoid in shape, wore dark clothing, had sharp long teeth and claws. Had horns reminiscent that of a goat, and a lot of the time he was depicted with a very long tongue.

Those details also matched the description Oriko had given them.

After almost an hour of discussing how they would fight Krampus, Sayaka wanted to suggest they do something to take their mind off it for a while.

"Hey, want to take a break from this? I can see you're getting pretty stressed."

"But if I don't figure something out-"

Homura's sentence was interrupted when Sayaka placed a hand over her own.

"Come on, you still have pretty much the rest of the month to plan this out. You can take your time, and besides you of all people should know what happens when you overwork yourself."

It took a moment before Homura sighed and relented. She could tell Sayaka wasn't going to back down on this. Perhaps the girl did have a point anyway.

"Alright fine, so what did you have in mind?"

"Well, we went and bought those Christmas decorations for a reason right?"

"Oh... I kinda forgot about that..."

Sayaka laughed. She figured that doing this would help relieve some stress that she could tell was building inside the ex-time traveler.

And so that's exactly what they did, going around Homura's home and setting up decorations both inside and out. There was some difficulties with getting some things to fit just right, but thanks to one of Homura's rather unique powers it wasn't much of an issue.

The power to magically remodel the inside of her own house. It was how she created that white strategy room with the giant gears, swinging pendulum and other oddities. Sayaka once asked about why she crafted the room the way she did, and Homura explained that the aesthetics of it all gave her a rather calming feeling. It helped her think as she came up with battle tactics.

Sayaka wasn't going to try and judge her girlfriend's tastes so she just went with it.

While decorating, Sayaka managed to set up a specific item right where she wanted as Homura was looking away.

After another hour or so it seemed like they were done. While technically there was still an obvious Christmas tree needed to really make it perfect, that could be saved for another time.

The two girls ended up having a drink of water at the dinner table. Decorating was a lot of work but Homura did find it to be quite fun, although the fact that Sayaka was with her certainly helped.

"Well Homura, what do you think?" Sayaka gestured to the adjacent living room filled with Christmas a themed items all over.

It was certainly a sight to behold as aside from the specific strategy room, Homura Akemi's home was rather basic looking all things considered before the Christmas renovation.

"It's going to be weird waking up to this everyday, and I can say that much." Homura took another sip of water out of a bottle.

"You'll get used to it, and by the time we take it all down I bet you're going to miss it."

Sayaka suddenly perked up before taking a drink as another thought entered the forefront of her mind.

"By the way, are you going to remodel the place back to how it used to be before we put up all these decorations? Since you did have to change a few things to get some stuff to fit."

Homura mulled that thought over for a moment. "Honestly I don't know, it's not like I changed the layout that significantly but I guess we'll see if things get irritating or not."

"Sounds fair, I guess that's why you never did much with the house? Like with that power of yours you could've gone pretty insane with the interior. You know like make it as if it were some trippy maze. Doors leading to nowhere with traps and all that."

Homura slightly deadpanned. "Right, as if I would be even capable of living in a place like that without losing my mind."

"Well..." Sayaka trailed off as she quickly tried to come up with a positive. "Oh, at least you wouldn't have to worry about intruders trying to rob you. They'd get so lost it would be pretty funny."

The blue haired girl giggled as she imagined a stereotypical burglar trying to rob Homura's home. The imaginary scene ended with her girlfriend shooting the burglar in the chest, because that's exactly what she thought Homura would do in that situation.

Homura chuckled as she raised her water bottle to take another sip. "I guess that is pretty... amusing... wait..."

Her eyes widened as the girl put the bottle down on the table. Her thoughts started to go into overdrive as a multitude of scenarios started playing through her mind all at once. Homura put a hand on her chin in order to help herself think as a concrete idea began to form.

Sayaka could only tilt her head to side as she stared at the other girl in confusion. "Homura? What's up?"

Not a moment later, Homura snapped her fingers as if she just had an epiphany. She stood up from her chair and walked over to her girlfriend.

"Sayaka, I love you."

Before the other girl could even respond, Homura bent down and quickly kissed Sayaka on the lips for a moment before pulling away. The girl on the receiving end was stunned to say the lest.

"Umm... I... err..."

Sayaka Miki was certainly not going to complain about that at all but it was so sudden and out of nowhere that she couldn't help but be surprised.

Homura began pacing back and forth in the dinning room. Too many ideas on what to do started flooding her mind all at once so she stopped and took in serval deep breaths. Her thoughts finally stabilized as she managed to reign her excitement in.

"Sayaka, I think I know what we can do now."

The other girl had finally snapped out of her stunned state of mind to respond.

"What are you talking about?"

"Krampus. I know exactly- okay well no not exactly yet but I've got a pretty good outline of what to do about that Witch now."

Sayaka had no idea how exactly she had prompted this. Still, the girl had been rewarded with a kiss out of it so it must've been one hell of an idea.

"Well don't leave me in suspense, what's the plan?"

* * *

_Christmas Eve, 11:52pm_

Weeks passed, until finally it was almost the prophesied time. The idea that Homura had thought up at the start of December had taken a lot of trail and error to fully realize.

It wasn't the kind of Christmas she expected to have. At least with Sayaka around she still managed to have some fun, but a lot of December was still long and arduous work. There was also more than a few close calls while setting everything up, but eventually it was finally complete.

Now she had to wait for Krampus to arrive.

Homura sat within her strategy room, waiting for the clock to strike midnight. She was already in her transformed state and at her side was an M4 Carbine assault rifle. Homura had a feeling that the coming battle was going to exhaust the rest of her military weapons, but if that's what it took to preserve the happy ending she had achieved months ago, then the girl was okay with it.

She quickly looked behind herself at a white door that didn't exist before. There used to be only one door that led to this particular room, but now there were two. The one in front of her led to the rest of her home, while the one behind her...

Well, if everything went according to plan then she wouldn't need it anymore after the coming battle.

Homura closed her eyes for a moment and thought about Sayaka. That girl was spending Christmas with her family, one that unlike Homura's seemed to actually love their child.

Not that she resented Sayaka for having a loving family or anything. Besides, having no parents around and a large bulk of cash left behind did have its own benefits after all.

Oh well. Homura felt that she didn't need a blood family to love. She already had someone she loved more than anything.

Her wondering thoughts were interrupted as the lights on the ceiling began to flicker. She lifted an arm and checked her watch.

11:58pm.

Almost time. She stood upright and picked up the assault rifle. While wielding it exactly like how a trained soldier would, she focused her mind for combat.

11:59pm.

The lights went out completely. Homura wasn't surprised. Oriko Mikuni already told her that this would happen. Although experiencing it herself made the gun wielding girl feel as if she had just entered a horror movie.

12:00am.

On the moment the it became Christmas Day, the sound of a crash and broken wood could be heard. Immediately afterward, the dark magical energy signature of a Witch started to fill the entire house.

According to Oriko's information, Krampus would break down her front door and go straight to wherever Homura Akemi was.

The ex-time traveler was banking on exactly that.

The heavy sound of footsteps grew louder as Krampus got closer to Homura's location. She had the assault rifle aimed directly at the door in front of her with a finger on the trigger.

She could feel the presence of a powerful Witch come closer in proximity. Her nerves began to shake momentarily before she forced herself to calm down.

_Focus... focus... I can do this... I survived Walpurgisnacht, I'll survive this too..._

Right after she finished that thought, the door busted right off it's hinges and flew over Homura's head and landed right behind her.

There in the door frame, stood the Witch. The thing was covered in darkness just as the white Mahou Shoujo said.

Krampus. The Demon of Christmas. The Shadow of Saint Nicholas.

"Naughty..."

It spoke with a voice that Homura could only describe as that of a demon. It sent a chill down her whole body before she shook the feeling away. She couldn't let herself be imitated by it.

Homura pulled the trigger on her rifle and began to open fire.


	3. To Protect Our Happy Ending

The Witch of Christmas - Chapter 3

To Protect Our Happy Ending

* * *

Homura continued to fire on the Witch with a stream of bullets. As expected the gunfire had little effect, but for now that was fine. She walked backwards while continuing to fire until she ran out of bullets in her magazine.

Krampus let out an animalistic roar as large black chains began to appear at it's side and shot forward toward. Homura raised her shield and used it to project a purple barrier of magic to block the attack.

She used that time of reprieve to reload her weapon and run back to the door behind her. Homura opened it to reveal a staircase leading down to complete darkness.

This is where the real fight would begin. She took in one last deep breath and started running down the stairs. As Homura ran, she could hear the sound of her barrier shattering. Krampus would start catching up to her now.

Exactly what Homura wanted.

She reached the bottom of the stairs and flicked a small switch on the wall.

Ceiling lights started to flicker on and they somewhat illuminated the room which turned out to be extremely large.

It needed to be after all, as Homura had spent almost the whole month crafting a giant maze with big silver steel walls.

She let herself smile for a moment. If it wasn't for Sayaka, she never would've gotten this idea in the first place.

The loud roar of Krampus could be heard again from the top of the stairs. Homura turned around with her gun ready to fire but found little creatures to be descending down the stairs. They looked like tiny elves, only with a dark and sinister aesthetic. Their faces alone already was enough for Homura to tell that they would tear her apart if they got close.

They were certainly the Witch's familiars.

Homura started to shoot them down while backing off. Thankfully the familiars were weak enough that it only required a few shots to kill one. However the moment she ran out of ammo on in her weapon, she put the rifle back into her shield and started running into the maze.

She could sense Krampus chasing after her. This is where the battle would really begin. The area wasn't just a big maze, it was one filled with traps.

As Krampus gave chase, shooting out both chains and flame attacks which Homura managed to dodge, she activated the various traps against the Witch by hitting switches while running through the maze.

Standard mines, guns, rockets and massive steel spikes being fired out of the walls. There were even a few trap doors that let the Witch fall into a pit filled with bombs that would detonate.

However no matter what kind of trap was triggered, Krampus did not die. It was unfortunate, but not unexpected. The main purpose of the traps was to wear down its defences before the final killing blow could be dealt.

Sometimes, Homura would equip herself with a submachine gun and open fire back as she ran. Mostly to prevent the familiars from getting close.

After turning another corner, Homura felt herself trip over ever so slightly. She didn't fall, but her legs staggered for a moment. Just then, she felt a chain wrap itself around her leg.

_Crap..._

Her body was flung straight into a wall on the side. She groaned in pain and tried her best to repress it until the chain pulled on her leg again and sent her into the wall on the opposite side.

"Argh!"

The chain then pulled her body straight toward Krampus as it reach out with a hand and grabbed Homura's body. The large demonic looking hand was big enough to wrap around her entire body, restricting all of her movement entirely. Homura was forced to stare into the dark eyes of Krampus. The creature looked just as horrifying up close for real as it did in the various illustrations.

It's grip on Homura's body tightened as she grunted in pain. If she had been alone, then the battle would be over.

Luckily she wasn't.

"Tiro Finale!"

Krampus suddenly felt an explosion of magic strike direction on it's back. That forced the creature to loosen it's grip on Homura which allowed to girl fall out and make some distance between her and the Witch.

Yellow ribbons started to appear and wrap themselves around the Witch's entire body. Afterward a certain blonde Mahou Shoujo landed at Homura's side.

"Akemi-san, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. That was perfect timing Tomoe-san."

Mami sighed as she put a hand on her hip. "Honestly, making us wait for the right time to attack is such a reckless idea."

Another demonic roar could be heard as Orange flames erupted out of Krampus's body, burning away Mami's ribbons in an instant.

Homura pulled out an MP5 submachine gun and started running again. "Scold me later, let's just keep moving!"

The two girls ran through the maze taking twists and turns as they both fired back with their guns. Krampus continued to summon its minions during the chase but they kept being torn apart but both magic and ordinary bullets.

However, the Witch itself wasn't damaged at all but either kinds of bullets. It raised an open hand and shot flames right out of it.

Homura summoned up another barrier on reaction, but the flames were already starting to crack the protective magic shield.

In that moment, a familiar red blur flew past Homura and Mami. It jumped over the barrier and headed straight toward Krampus.

Kyoko Sakura raised her spear and attempted to stab the head of the Witch, but the bladed edge of her weapon cracked and shattered upon impact. Leaving not a single scratch.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Krampus attempted to claw at her body but Kyoko managed to dodge just in time.

"I told you it was tough! Just keep it busy for a bit!" Homura yelled. "Tomoe-san, provide support fire."

"On it." The blonde Mahou Shoujo started summoning more guns and began shooting again.

Kyoko created another spear in her hands but this time she enhanced the bladed edge with her magic so it wouldn't shatter so easily.

"Rosso Phantasma!"

Multiple illusions of Kyoko were created on the spot and they all started attacking as Mami continued to fire.

Eventually Homura reached a large square shaped clearing which was created to be the centre of the maze. And in that centre stood two other Mahou Shoujo.

Oriko Mikuni and Kirika Kure.

The white Mahou Shoujo had her eyes closed and had summoned dozens of spheres at her side. This whole time she had been charging up her magic in order to unleash it all at once at the right time.

Kirika on the other hand held onto a bunch of Grief Seeds. Every time Oriko's Soul Gem became fairly clouded, she would use one of the Grief Seeds to absorb the corruption so Oriko could continue uninterrupted.

Homura said nothing at the sight of the two of them. Oriko needed to concentrate after all, so the ex-time traveler reached into her shield and began to get ready for the next part of the plan.

Back in the maze, Kyoko continued to dodge Krampus's attacks with her illusion magic. The chain and flame attacks kept missing as Kyoko tried to slash and stab at the Witch. Her attacks combined with Mami's constant barrage of blasts seemed to finally be doing some damage as Krampus seemed to flinch a few times during the assault.

_Sakura-san! Tomoe-san! Fall back to my position!_

The two Mahou Shoujo heard Homura's voice in their minds and obeyed the order immediately.

Mami couldn't help but chuckle as she ran with Kyoko. Homura really did sound like a military commander during battle. To think things used to be so much more hostile between them, but now Homura had pretty much become their unofficial leader.

It was an interesting way for things to end up, but Mami didn't have much of a problem with it.

The two girls got to the square clearing and found themselves greeted by a bunch of mounted M134 Miniguns arranged in a semi circle formation covering the path into the centre of the maze.

Krampus was right behind them as they jumped over the guns. Homura concentrated her magic and used it to pull the trigger on each minigun simultaneously. The almost deafening sound of gunfire resonated throughout the area as the Witch was momentarily pinned down by the constant stream of bullets fired at an extremely high rate.

Of course that wasn't going to be enough to kill the Witch, but it did give Mami and Kyoko a chance to take a breath and cleanse their Souls Gems.

Flames exploded out of Krampus as it roared which melted down the miniguns to the point of them all being rendered defunct. Chains started flying and tried to attack but was intercepted by Kyoko's multiple segmented spears connected by their own chains. The opposing attacks wrapped around and tangled up with each other.

Oriko opened her eyes and sent a mental message to Homura. She was ready.

The dark haired girl nodded and yelled out one more command. "Everyone, get behind Mikuni-san!"

Her friends did just that, which meant Krampus would begin charging forward again to strike.

Oriko took a deep breath as she watched the Witch come right for her. She stared its demonic face as the girl shifted the formation of her spheres to get the line of fire just right.

"Oracle Ray."

Each sphere she created erupted in a flash of bright light as they all fired a golden beam of concentrated magic at once. The light was almost blinding as the other Mahou Shoujo had to momentarily covered their eyes.

However, even with all that magic thrown at Krampus all at once it didn't die as it's magical signature hadn't disappeared just yet. Even Oriko couldn't help but be a little surprised at how sturdy the Witch was.

The smoke from the explosion cleared up and Krampus held up its arms in order to shoot flames from the hands once again.

Homura threw up a large barrier of magic to protect everyone all at once, but the intensity of the attack was already putting a strain on her. Sweat began to form on her body as the barrier started to weaken against the flames.

"Heaven's Fang!"

A familiar voice rang out. Krampus became enveloped in an azure explosion of magic. Judging by its groan of pain, that attack had managed to do some significant damage.

A figure fell from the air and landed alongside the rest of the girls.

It was Sayaka Miki.

"Sorry I'm late guys, but trying to sneak out was way more difficult than I thought."

Homura equiped an AW50 sniper rifle as her next weapon. "Well you're here now, so we can finally take this thing down. Is everyone ready?"

All the other girls nodded in unison. Homura then dissolved the barrier between themselves and Krampus.

"Let's go!"

Everyone moved at the same time. Sayaka, Kyoko and Kirika charged into melee range against Krampus. Homura, Mami and Oriko all moved to surround the Witch in a triangular formation.

This would be rather simple. The melee fighters would now by the ones doing most of the damage at close range while the others would provide support from a distance.

Kirika's claws, Kyoko's spear and Sayaka's sword all slashed at the Witch as they dodged its attacks. Thanks to the previous strikes Krampus had endured, it's defence had weakened considerably so the bladed weapons could deal consistent damage now.

While the melee Mahou Shoujo attacked, the ranged ones would take pot shots whenever possible. This would ensure that Krampus could never truly focus on attacking one Mahou Shoujo.

As the battle continued, Krampus grew weaker and weaker. It's end was coming soon, and so it's attacks stared becoming more desperate before eventually covering it's body in fire. The flames forced Sayaka, Kyoko and Kirika to back off.

Homura took this chance to take out an RPG-7 and fire. The missile struck the head of Krampus with a fairly large explosion.

Sayaka smirked as she jumped into the air and started charging up her cutlass sword with magic.

"Heaven's Fang!"

She swung the blade to release a hyper dense blue wave of magic fired in the shape of a crescent moon. The attack hit it's target with another explosion. Krampus let out an low groan as it's magic was becoming weaker.

Mami summoned a large gun and prepared to unleash her Tiro Finale technique, but stopped when Sayaka's mental voice interrupted her thoughts.

_Wait, I think we should let Homura deal the final blow._

The blonde hesitated for a moment but she eventually dissolved her gun, agreeing to Sayaka's request. Speaking of, the sword wielding Mahou Shoujo herself took the opportunity to throw her own sword into the air.

No words were spoken, as Homura knew exactly what the purpose of that was. She jumped into the air above the Witch and took hold of the blade with both hands. Her body started falling and with sword in hand, she swung it down right on Krampus.

The magical blade cut through the middle of the body. It split the Witch in two while the creature let out one lost dying breath. Homura breathed heavily in and out as she watched Krampus disintegrate into nothingness. Leaving only a white Grief Seed behind as proof of its defeat.

Homura disengaged her transformation as there was no need to keep it on anymore.

The Christmas battle was over.

* * *

All the girls except Homura and Sayaka left the house after a quick rest. It was past midnight after all and tomorrow was Christmas Day. Best to get as much rest as possible for the special day. Not to mention that pretty much everyone was tired after having to endure a battle past midnight.

The two remaining girls sat on a couch in Homura's living room. Sayaka insisted that they needed to talk there, and that it was important.

"So what did you want to talk about? You know you need to get back home before your family notices you're gone right?"

The other girl nodded. "Yeah yeah I got it, I just need to know how you're holding up. After Krampus, you know?"

Homura seriously doubted that this was what Sayaka really wanted to talk about, but she went along with it anyway. Homura took a few moments to think before letting out a proper response.

"Well, after Walpurgisnacht all those months ago, I thought that my fight was over. I thought I would never have to go to such lengths to deal with a Witch ever again, but I guess life just has a way of you keeping you on your toes."

She transformed in a quick flash of light and reached into her shield to take out a Five-Seven pistol. Her eyes inspected every aspect of the gun. Taking it all in, knowing that she was forever grateful for the existence of these firearms.

"I need to become stronger, and I can't rely on these weapons forever. I may have lost my time powers, but after this battle with Krampus I now know that I cannot let that be an excuse. I will become stronger, no matter what it takes."

Sayaka ended placing a hand over Homura's as she gave her a comforting smile. She understood the burning to desire to become powerful exactly. "And I'll be there to help you, every step of the way. You were there for me when I was at my weakest, and it's only because of you that I became as strong as I am now. So I'll gladly return the favour."

"Thank you, Sayaka." Homura's words were then followed by a tired sigh. She needed to go to bed soon, it had been a very tiring night. "Honestly, this has been one hell of a Christmas."

"Sorry that you had to spend a lot of that time working on the maze to fight Krampus."

Homura shook her head. "It's alright, not like it's your fault or anything for existence of Krampus. Besides, I still got to spend time with you, so I would say it was worth it."

"By the way, speaking of Christmas-" Sayaka started but Homura but her off.

"Mistletoe, right?" The dark haired girl pointed upwards to where the decoration was hanging right above them. "Honestly did you really think I wouldn't notice?"

"Umm well, ehh... kinda?"

"Well don't I feel insulted." Homura crossed her arms and looked away as if she were an angry child.

Sayaka could tell that her girlfriend wasn't actually angry but she played along. "Oh come on, it was just something for the Christmas spirit."

A smile formed across Homura's face as she turned back to face Sayaka. "Really now, you didn't need to resort to something like this."

Before Sayaka could properly respond, Homura grabbed her by the collar and pulled her face forward into a kiss. Sayaka had her eyes widen in shock for a moment before eventually closing them and kissing Homura back.

The two stayed that way for a few moments before Homura slowly pulled away with a smug smirk on her face. It was a side of Homura that only Sayaka got to see for the most part.

Sayaka let out a sigh, as that certainly didn't pan out the way she planned it. "I'm such an idiot."

"Don't worry, you're my idiot."

After they both shared a laugh, it was agreed that Sayaka should really get back home. There was still a Christmas get together that Madoka planned out for everyone to exchange presents so they could spend more time together then.

Homura watched Sayaka take a few steps out of the home entrance, the one with a completely broken and smashed door thanks to Krampus. Homura knew she definitely had to fix that before going to bed.

The blue haired girl turned her body back around and gave Homura one more warm smile.

"Merry Christmas, Homura."

Her words made Homura pause for a bit as she expect Sayaka to say something like that at the end of the day, not what was essentially the beginning of it. Still, that got her to let out a little chuckle and smile back at her girlfriend.

"Merry Christmas, Sayaka."

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay so I kinda went back and forth on whether or not I wanted use Sayaka's "Heaven's Fang" attack in this short story. As it's not a canonical ability she has, only something I gave her during my currently on-going HomuSaya story. But at the end I decided to use it because I figured it would be fun.**

**So like I said before, this story was the first time I ever wrote something for Christmas so I hope you guys enjoyed it.**

**Merry Christmas to you all!**


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